Devious Minds
by AkiLynn
Summary: With the Black Organization becoming more active, Conan has his hands full. But when another crime syndicate begins to make some aggressive moves, Conan might be in over his head. Luckily, he has some help even if it is in the form of a hotheaded Osakan detective, a stuck-up British sleuth, and an arrogant white-clad thief.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a story that I've been thinking about for a while and decided to start. This branches off my one-shot the Request and follows from that. Anyway, some things to mention before you start, in this fic, Kaito's a year older than Shinichi. I know most people say he's the same age, but since they never actually stated his age in the manga, I always assumed he's a year older than him. I don't know, he just seemed that way to me. That's just me. But anyway, I hope you enjoy the story.**

Prologue: One More Favor

"You know, Kudo-san. Just because you know who I am, doesn't give you the right to harass me," Kaito said idly into his phone as he walked down the street. He had been grocery shopping, seeing that his mother decided that she wanted to take another trip to France and let him by himself again. Perhaps she was trying to give him more freedom since he'd be starting college soon. That might have been the case if she hadn't been asking him for more favors concerning his "night job." Honestly, how the hell his dad managed to work with that woman was beyond him. Either way, it was starting to get annoying.

Yusaku laughed on the other end, "I know, I know, but this isn't an idle call, Kaito-kun. This is about my request I asked of you a few months ago."

Kaito shook his head at that. He remembered all too well the favor the novelist asked that night, "What about it? I've been keeping an eye on him like you asked, even outside my night job."

"I know you have and thank you, Kaito-kun," Yusaku said, "But I'm going to need you to be a bit more active in your watching now." His voice had suddenly become very serious which made Kaito stop in his tracks.

"What do you mean?"

Yusaku told him what he meant and what he wanted Kaito to do. After a few moments of silence, Kaito burst out laughing. Poker face be damned, there was no way he couldn't find this hilarious and not laugh like this.

"Are you serious?" Kaito asked through fits of laughter.

"I am, Kaito," Yusaku said sternly.

Kaito tried his best to calm down, but it proved a bit difficult. Once he got his laughter under control, he said, "Alright, alright you're serious. You do know that he's going to kill you once he finds out this was your idea."

"I know that, but he's just going to have to deal with it," Yusaku said, obviously trying to sound serious even though he too thought it was very funny, "Besides, you have the perfect cover already, so now's the best time for it."

"Now I know where that devious mind of his comes from," Kaito snickered, "He obviously learned how to blackmail from you."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Yusaku taunted, slipping into his old banter he once used with Toichi.

Similarly, Kaito slipped into his Kid persona, "And you people called me the criminal. If anyone has a truly devious mind it's you and that son of yours."

"So says the thief that makes it his job to infuriated any and all forms of authority," Yusaku quipped back, unable to hide his smugness from the old days.

"Ah, but at least my actions bring joy and wonder to others as I give the police a merry chase," Kid stated. He heard Yusaku laugh on the other end and wondered if this was always how his dad and him acted towards one another, or if they used to be like himself and the small detective.

Yusaku stopped laughing, but the mirth was still in his voice, "Alright, you've made your point and we could go around in circles for ages at this rate. Anyway, you'll do it?"

"Oh, I suppose so," Kid drawled, giving a sigh, "You already are holding my identity over my head and it's not like he can get me into any more dangerous situations than he already has. He's already tried to blow me to bits. Besides, he's a trouble magnet and if anything, needs someone with experience to look after him."

Yusaku snorted, "I don't suppose you'll need any help then?"

"Oh, I think I can manage," Kid laughed, "After all, it is my area of expertise. Your wife should know that."

"Alright then," Yusaku said, becoming serious once again, "Yukiko should be there in a few hours. Don't worry, though, she doesn't know your or his identity, she just knows she's working with Kid."

Kid shook his head, "Tch, what a formality; you already knew that I'd agree. Heh, a sly fox indeed."

"Well, of course," Yusaku stated happily, "You may be a thief, but you're no villain."

"Careful, Kudo-san," Kid warned, "For all you know I may be a wolf under this sheepskin of carefree demeanor."

"Heh, if that were the case then I'd truly be a fool," Yusaku laughed, "You and I both know that isn't the case, no matter how hard you try to make it look otherwise."

"Ah, to be see through so easily," Kid feinted horror, "I must be losing my touch."

"Not at all," Yusaku stated, "It's just that you're actions speak louder than your words."

"Oh? So, you're a counselor now?"

"No, but I have seen too much not to know that actions like yours aren't performed by those with evil hearts," Yusaku said, simply.

"You should stick with writing, Kudo-san," Kid said, "Poetic words as such should be placed on a page."

"You should know considering your riddles," Yusaku retorted, "Enough of this already. You'll help, correct."

"On my honor as a thief," Kid vowed solemnly.

"Thank you, Kaito-kun," Yusaku said, truly grateful. There was a pause before he continued, "Try not to drive Shinichi too crazy."

"I give no such promises," Kid smiled before hanging up. Kaito laughed a little as he walked back home. This was going to be fun.

**So Yusaku and Kid concocted a plan of some sorts. Anyone want to guess what Yusaku asked Kid to do? A hint - If Shinichi were to know, he'd probably murder both of them. This is going to be fun to write. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Magic Katio or Detective Conan**


	2. Chapter 2

**Two chapters in less than 24 hours! Hurray! Ahem, sorry.**

**So, I know in the prologue that I made this sound like it's going to be mostly about Kid, and he is a major character for this story, but it is going to be mostly about Conan and a case of his. Just letting you know. Anyway, hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

Chapter 1: Surprises, Surprises

Conan stared at the page in front of him, tapping his finger against the table. His brows were furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher the stupid note. Not that there was much to decipher. It was a simple blank white piece of paper with a single line of words written across it.

_Expect a visit from your younger yet older brother._

There was no signature or anything otherwise that suggested who had sent him the note. He neglected the homework he was supposed to do in favor of figuring out the stupid thing. He might have thought that it had been for another classmate if it wasn't taped to his math notebook as well as the cryptic message. What the hell did "younger yet older" mean? It was driving him insane.

As he racked his brain for an answer, his phone rang. Looking at the caller I.D., he groaned, but answered, "What, Hattori?"

"Geez, what's got ya such a bad mood, Kudo?" Hattori complained.

Conan rolled his eyes, "It's nothing. What do you want?"

"Well, I was goin' to ask ya for some help on a case," Hattori snapped back, annoyed, "But clearly ya got somethin' else on yer mind, so never mind."

"What case?" Conan immediately asked, the note forgotten.

Hattori took a breath before starting, "I don't 'bout this one, Kudo. There's somethin' not right 'bout it."

"What do you mean?" Conan asked, serious now.

"I don't know," Hattori said, "Ya know the death of that major politician that happened last week?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I looked into it an' it's definitely a murder, but the method is what's botherin' me."

"What was it?"

"Radioactive poisonin', an' judgin' by the amount that was still in 'is system, he was poisoned less than a week from when he died."

Conan was silent for a moment. Whoever killed him had to have access to some type of nuclear waste and a lot of it as well extreme expertise to pull this off.

"Do they know how it got into his system?"

"Nah, they're still lookin'."

"Radiation isn't exactly my area of expertise, but I'll look into it, Hattori," Conan said.

"Alright then, Kudo," Hattori said, "I'll come up this weekend."

"Fine."

"Ya still sound annoyed, Kudo," Hattori said, "What's buggin' ya?"

Conan shook his head, "Nothing, just some stupid note that was left in my bag."

"A note?"

"Yeah it just has some weird message on it and I can't figure out what it means."

"What does it say?"

"'Expect a visit from your younger yet older brother.'"

"What the heck it that suppose to mean? Ya don't have a brother."

"I know that, stupid, I've been racking my brain for the last two hours trying to figure it out!"

"Alright, alright, I've leave ya in peace with yer stupid letter," Hattori laughed.

"Fine, whatever, see you this weekend, Hattori."

"Later, Kudo."

Conan mauled over what Hattori told him and went to work thinking of a possible lead. He already deduced that they were dealing with someone with incredible resources and knowledge to be able to slip a politician a high dose of radioactive material without notice until now. So, that would limit it to number of people who had access to such material. He should first start by isolating all possible locations that the substance could have come from. Considering the delicacy that the material would need to be handled, he should start by searching the closest locations to the victim. He wished Hattori had more details, but he had to work with what he had at the moment.

He got up from the table and stretched, looking back at the infuriating note. The stupid thing would have to wait; he had a case to solve.

-00000-

Kogoro laughed loudly as he watched his one of favorite programs while waiting for dinner. Conan just gave the man a look before shaking his head. He still wondered sometimes how anyone could take the man seriously even if he managed to "solve" cases all the time.

In a matter of minutes, Ran came out of the kitchen, presenting dinner. After handing Conan his dinner, Ran seemed to remember something and smiled brightly, "Oh, Conan, I almost forgot. Your mother called and she's coming to visit tomorrow."

Conan looked up at Ran, confused and a bit on edge. He wondered why would his mother come back, as "Conan's mother," and was a little bit worried as to what she had in store for him. Past experience told him to be wary.

"Really!" Conan tried to sound excited, "Did she say why?"

"Not really, but she said that she has a big surprise for you," Ran smiled warmly.

Conan tried his best not to shudder. Now he really didn't want to know why she was here.

"Maybe she'll finally take the brat back," Kogoro casually remarked, drinking a can of beer lazily.

Ran walked over to her father and snatched the can from his hand, "How can you say that? Besides, she said it's just a quick visit."

_For obvious reasons_, Conan thought.

"Come on! I don't see why they can't just take the brat back already!" Kogoro whined.

"But I thought you said I was your good luck charm," Conan piped in; mustering up the most childish voice he could while retaining some of his dignity.

"That's right, Dad!" Ran barked, "Besides, you know you'd miss Conan too."

"What I miss is not having to share a room with the brat," Kogoro muttered.

Ran slammed her hand on the desk and asked her father sweetly, "What was that?"

Scared of his daughter, Kogoro stammered, "N-nothing!"

"That's what I thought."

Conan just smiled ruefully, careful not to get himself further into the situation. But he did wonder why his mother was coming. He sighed, first the stupid note, then Hattori's case, and now his mother. What else could happen today?

Ran took her meal and sat next to Conan, "So, Conan, what do you think your mom's surprise is?"

"I don't know," Conan said, "Maybe a new toy or a videogame!" He tried to sound like an excited kid.

"Hmm… maybe you're right," Ran mused, "She sounded really excited." Ran failed to notice the sweat drop running down Conan's face. He really didn't want to know what his mom was up to.

-00000-

The next day was a typical school day for Conan. He managed to get out of some crazy plans his friends came up with and left with Haibara. Haibara noticed his uneasiness and asked, "What is it this time?"

Conan gave her a look before sighing, "Nothing, just a case Hattori asked for help on and that 'my mother,'" he air quoted, "is coming to visit today with a 'big surprise' for me."

Haibara gave him a smirk, "You don't sound terribly excited."

Conan gave her a glare, "You don't understand what that woman can come up with."

"Considering how clever she is, I guess you're right to be worried," she commented, still smirking.

Conan rolled his eyes, but refrained from saying anything. He wasn't in the mood for this.

After some moments of silence between the two, Haibara spoke up again, "But I suppose it's a good thing."

"What do you mean?" Conan asked.

"Well, seeing you with your 'mother,' will most likely throw off any members that are still curious about you," she stated simply.

Conan thought for a moment. Maybe that was why she was coming. It's been a while since he had been a point of interest for them, but it never hurt to be careful. And if they were looking into him again, having his mother back would throw them off again.

"Maybe," he mused.

Haibara just shrugged, "Whatever. Just be careful and don't draw attention to yourself."

"I know that!" Conan snapped. But Haibara just shrugged again and headed down towards the professor's house. Conan sighed and headed back towards the agency, slightly dreading whatever his mother had in store.

Once he got back, he found that his mother still wasn't there. He sighed in relief; it gave him time to compose himself. He took out his homework and easily finished with a few minutes. Ran had come back and happily told Conan about her day. He smiled sadly. She'd be starting their final year soon, and he still wouldn't be with her, not how he should be anyway. He wished that he could, but until those bastards were caught, he'd be stuck in his tiny body.

When Ran went to start her own homework, Conan noticed the note from the day before. He still didn't understand it, and looked at it with narrowed eyes. Whoever gave him the stupid thing was either an idiot or just trying to mess with him. A sudden thought crossed his mind. He shook his head. There was no way that was right.

It was almost dinnertime again when a knock came from the door. Ran happily answered and Conan's "mother," Edogawa Fumiyo, came into the room.

"Oh there's my little Conan!" she cooed and promptly walked over and cuddled with Conan.

Trying to breath, Conan struggled against her, "Mom! Let go!"

"Oh, but I missed you so much!" she cried, cuddled him harder. Conan was wondering how much she was enjoying torturing him.

"Ah, Edogawa-san, it's good to see you again," Kogoro said, smiling and hoping that she would take the brat away.

"Mouri-san! It's been too long," she exclaimed, "Thank you so much for looking after my precious Conan here. I know he can be a handful at times."

"You have no idea," Kogoro muttered, but was slapped in the back of the head by Ran, "but we enjoy having him here."

"Oh, thank you so much! I don't have much time here, so I really appreciate you looking after him."

"No problem," Kogoro said with a fake smile.

Conan took the awkward moment to ask, "You said you had a big surprise for me?"

"Oh yes," his mother said, "You'll love it." She turned to the door and said, "You can come in now, honey."

Everyone watched the door as a young man came into the room. He had messy dark brown hair that was covered by a dark hat that hid most of his facial features. Other than that, his attire was a simple black jacket, revealing a white shirt underneath, with jeans and black shoes. He looked up at them showing blue eyes almost identical to Conan's as well as many similar facial features. But what drew Conan's attention was the smirk on his face, one that he knew all too damn well.

The young man, still smirking, but somehow making it a gentle smile for everyone else, looked at Conan, "Hey, little bro. Long time no see!"

**Mwahahaha! Poor Conan, his life already sucks and I'm just making it worse. Oh well. I think you can all guess who the "young man" is. Let the messing with Conan begin! But that isn't the main point. The story mostly follows the case, but this is necessary for what is going to happen. Remember, no promises were given from driving Conan insane! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Disclaimer – I own neither Detective Conan nor Magic Kaito (though I dearly wish so!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter two! I've very bored right now and I'm enjoying writing this story at the moment. Unfortunately, my inspiration will most likely writhe in a few days or I won't have time to write, so updates with most likely not be this speedy.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

Chapter 2: Meet the Edogawas

_What the hell did he just say?_ Conan's mind screamed, retaining enough sense not to blurt it out. The voice wasn't quite the same as his usual drawl and the features weren't exactly the same as when he usually faced him, but he'd recognize that stupid grin anywhere: Kid's grin. _What in the world is he doing here? What the HELL was going on?_ The damn smirk was still on his face as he leaned over Conan.

"Aww, what's the matter, Conan? Didn't you miss me?" Kid chuckled, somehow managing to give a polite tone to the others yet at the same time implying his usual arrogance to the small detective.

Conan could feel his eyebrow throbbing as it twitched furiously. He looked to his mother who, in her disguise, seemed like this was completely normal, but he could see the immense amusement hidden behind her eyes. So they were working together, huh? Conan's mind was close to breaking as a thousand questions ran through his mind. Luckily, he didn't have to ask the obvious question as Kogoro asked, "Who the hell are you, kid?"

Conan's mother laughed, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mouri-san. This is my eldest son, Toshiro."

"Toshiro" smiled and held out his hand, "So, you're the famous Sleeping Kogoro? Nice to meet you." Kogoro smiled at his epithet and shook the hand eagerly.

"Conan-kun never mentioned he had an older brother before," Ran mused, studying Toshiro's appearance. She quickly saw the resemblance between him and Shinichi.

Toshiro looked surprise for a moment before smirking and looking back at Conan, "Is that so? I see that you're an attention hog as usual."

That finally snapped Conan out of his shock, "Like you have room to talk!" He didn't realize that it sounded like a child's whine, which made everyone laugh.

"You got that right," Kogoro laughing at Conan with Ran nodding in agreement.

_That bastard_, Conan thought, glaring daggers at Kid, earning more laughs at his expense.

Ran finally stopped laughing before asking, "So what brings you here, Toshiro-san?"

Toshiro/Kid turned to Ran, smiling, "Well, I'll be starting college here soon, and since I'll be in the area, I thought it would be nice to visit my little brother."

"Eh? A university student, huh?" Kogoro said, looking at Toshiro up and down, "Where at?"

Toshiro rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed. Conan gave him a curious glance, never seeing Kid act like this in any setting. He wondered briefly if it was a genuine expression. Toshiro laughed nervously, waving his hand, "It's nothing-"

Their mother interrupted him, "He'll be attending the University of Tokyo! We're so proud of him!"

"Mom!" Toshiro exclaimed, looking like he was between horror and embarrassment.

"What? Can't a mother be proud of her son?" she teased.

Toshiro shook his head frantically, "You don't have to advertise it!"

Ran and Kogoro looked shocked. "Really? Todai?" Ran asked, impressed.

"I-it's nothing! Really!" Toshiro said quickly, looking more and more embarrassed.

But she just laughed, "That's Toshiro for you. Always the modest one." Conan nearly choked holding back a snort. Him? Modest? As if. But he had to hand it to him; his acting was flawless.

Ran laughed, finding his embarrassment a little cute. She asked eagerly, "What are you going into?"

"Engineering," Toshiro said simply, still trying to hold back his embarrassment, but failing (or in reality, succeeding).

Ran clapped her hands together happily, "I see now! That's why Conan's so smart! It must run in the family!"

Toshiro rubbed the back of his head and laugh nervously, "You can say that. He takes after our old man more than me though." Conan laughed slightly before giving Kid a queer look. He wasn't sure it Kid was complimenting or insulting him.

But he decided to get back at the thief. "That's because you take after Mom!" he shouted, letting his childish voice creep in. He received an irritated look from Kid, but he just smiled innocently. Two could play at this game.

"At least Dad didn't give me a weird name," Kid smirked at Conan, but Conan was grinning as well.

"But my name's special. He didn't name me after a misprint in a newspaper," Conan retorted cutely, enjoying the look on Kid's face. Kid's eyebrow was now twitching, and Conan was sure he was debating whether or not to strangle him.

The loud laughter from their mother snapped them back to reality. "I forgot how cute you two could be!" Both of them gave her a baleful look, but she just kept laughing. She turned to Kogoro, "You don't mind if I steal Conan for the evening?"

"No, go ahead," Kogoro waved at her, his mood improving, "Take as long as you want."

"Thank you, Mouri-san!" she said before turning to the other two, "Come on, boys. Let's go." The two sighed and followed her out the door, waving good-bye to the other two. They came to a car parked outside the agency and before Conan could move, Kid took the passenger seat and his mother the driver seat. Scowling, Conan got into the back.

Once they started driving, Conan dropped all form of his child act and glared at Kid, who was casually siting in front of him. "What's going on?" he asked harshly.

"My, my, my Tantei-kun," Kid drawled, his normal tone back in place, "You don't sound excited to see me. I'm hurt."

Conan's eyebrow started to twitch again, but before he could say anything, his mother cut in, "He's here to help, Shinichi."

Conan blinked, "Help? With what?"

"Hmm… Let me think," Kid faked musing, "Perhaps I'm helping keeping your identity from a certain evil organization."

Conan looked between the two of them, shocked, "How much do you know?"

Kid smirked, looking back at Conan, "Don't worry, Tantei-kun. They didn't tell me; I figured it out on my own. I knew you're a trouble magnet, but I didn't realize though how much of one you are until after you blackmailed me into faking someone's death. You still owe me for that, by the way."

"I let you go, didn't I?" Conan snapped, smirking a little as remembered the incident.

"My acting services don't include being nearly blown to bits by C4," Kid retorted.

"You're alive, aren't you? Besides, I don't see how this has anything to do with that," Conan barked.

An evil smirk graved Kid's face, "Because that incident just proved that you are in need my skills if you're dealing with these people."

"I didn't need you!" Conan hissed.

"Oh really?" Kid mocked, "I guess, you're right. If I hadn't been there, that friend of yours wouldn't be dead now, correct?" Conan glared at him before looking away. "That's what I thought," Kid smirked.

"Fine, you made your point," Conan consented, "but I still don't see why you're helping me now."

"It's because of Amuro," Yukiko piped in.

Conan looked at her, "What do you mean?"

"You must know that he's taken an interest in you," she said, worry in her voice, "With his skills, he'll find out the truth eventually."

"So you're setting up a solid front of my identity while at the same time keeping an eye on me as well as them," Conan concluded for them, shaking his head. Despite himself, he had to admit, it was a good idea.

"I wish I could take the credit for the idea, but alas, it wasn't mine. Don't worry, Tantei-kun," Kid drawled, "I won't be around you all the time. I'll just drop in once and a while to keep up the illusion. It's my area of expertise after all."

Conan smirked, "I didn't think you cared so much."

"Tch, don't flatter yourself, Tantei-kun," Kid drawled, slightly annoyed, "My number one rule is that no one gets hurt and I would hate to lose my favorite critic. Besides, I have experience in this type of situation."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Kid said a little too quickly and Conan realized that it was most likely a touchy subject for him, so he said nothing.

Conan sighed, "You've could have warned me." He looked at his mother, but Kid laughed.

"But I did," Kid said, the stupid grin of his back on his face.

"What do you me-" Conan stopped before mentally slapping himself, "That stupid note!"

"Oh? The great Tantei-kun couldn't figure it out? I'm disappointed," Kid laughed.

Conan scowled, "What the hell did that mean anyway!"

"I'm hurt that you don't remember, Tantei-kun."

"What are you-" Conan's eyes widened, "That stupid wild goose chase you sent me on all those years ago! Of course!" He gave Kid a wary look, "What did that stupid message mean anyway?"

"Oh? So you figured out that it was for your father?" Kid mused, "I was merely asking him if he'd could try to stop me again. Another unfortunate habit you seemed to get from him."

Conan smirked, "Like father, like son."

Kid just shook his head, "You have no idea."

They would have continued to banter, but Yukiko's laughter drew them out of their arguing.

"What?" they said in unison.

"Yusaku was right!" she said through her laughter, "We didn't need to warn you. You two act like brothers without even trying!" Both boys sweat dropped at that.

"I don't think that's a good thing," Conan mumbled.

"I'd have to agree," Kid said as well. Yukiko just laughed harder.

-00000-

They stopped at a traditional restaurant and to everyone else; they appeared to be a normal family. The boys were teasing one another and the mother laughed at her sons' antics. It was so natural looking that anyone who did know the truth of the matter would have unnerved by it. An actress, a thief, and a shrunken detective acting like a happy little family? It was creepy.

"So what's the plan then?" Conan asked.

Kid a bite out of his meal and swallowed before answering, "It's like we said in the car. I'll stop by from time to time in order to solidify the illusion of your family as well as being available to bail you out if you need it."

"I still don't know why you're being so helpful," Conan gave him a curious glance.

Kid didn't bother to look at him as he retorted, "I didn't really have a choice in the matter. Our father drives a hard bargain."

Conan gave him a questioning look before remembering their conversation in the car, gasping at the thief, "He knows, doesn't he?"

"Who knows what?" asked Kid nonchalantly.

"My dad," Conan said, "He knows your real identity!"

"Now where in the world did you get that idea?"

"He does know!" Conan gaped, shocked that his father knew all along, "Why hasn't he arrest you yet?"

Kid shrugged, confirming Conan's suspicions, "How should I know? I think he finds it funny that his son is now chasing after me as well." Conan gave him a deadpan look while silently agreeing with him. That was something his dad would do.

"Really? Yusaku knows your identity!" Yukiko said, before she huffed, "That man! He never tells me anything!"

Kid just laughed, "Well, considering the amount of respect we have for each other, I should say that's a good thing."

Conan, however, realized something, "Wait a minute! He blackmailed you into this, didn't he? It was his idea!"

"You are correct, Tantei-kun," Kid laughed, but it seemed a little forced, "You truly are an infuriating little clone of your father."

Despite his anger at his father for going behind his back, a wide, evil smirk crossed Conan's face, "So that means that I'll figure out who you really are."

"You can try, Tantei-kun," Kid laughed.

-00000-

After dinner, the "family" drove back to the agency to drop off Conan. Ran greeted him warmly while Kogoro muttered something about 'being back too soon' successfully earning an icy glare from his daughter.

"I hope you don't mind if I stop by from time to time to see how the kid's doing," Toshiro asked, tipping up the brim of his hat.

"Not at all," Ran said kindly, studying his features once again.

"I don't see why you can't just take care of your brother now you're here," Kogoro grumbled.

Toshiro laughed nervously, "Between school and working, I think I'll have barely enough time taking care of myself as it is." He stopped laughing once he noticed Ran's staring. "Is there something wrong, Ran-san?"

Ran jumped a little from being caught, "It's nothing. You just look like someone I know."

"You're probably thinking of my cousin, Shinichi, aren't you?" Toshiro answered simply.

Ran looked at him in shock before remembering that the Kudos and the Edogawas were related. Seeing the look, Toshiro gave her a small smile, "Don't worry, a lot of people get us mixed up," he stopped before giving her a kind smile, "So, you're the girl he always talks about." Conan gave him a harsh glare, but Kid just winked at him.

"Eh? You've talked to Shinichi?" Ran asked, trying to find out anything she could.

Toshiro rubbed the back of his head again, something he seemed to do when he was nervous, "He's on some type of hard case; so I don't get to talk to him much. He's always serious with detective work. He's a bad influence on Conan. I blame him for Conan's fascination in becoming a detective." Ran laughed at that while Conan gave him another glare. _You're a bad influence, _he thought bitterly.

"See, Ran, I told you that detective kid was no good," Kogoro said, "Even he's own cousin says so."

"Dad, he's just kidding," Ran snapped.

As the father and daughter argued, Conan pulled on Kid's arm and hissed, "You're not helping me."

Kid just smirked, "Relax, it'll be fine. You seriously need to find a sense of humor."

"I have a sense of humor!" Conan snapped.

Kid's eyebrows disappeared into his hair, "Really? I would love to see that!"

Conan's eyebrow twitched again, but couldn't say anything as his mother said, "Thank you so much for looking after Conan, Mouri-san."

"Don't worry, Edogawa-san," Ran said happily, subduing her father.

Toshiro took out a piece of paper, scribbled down something, and handed it to her, "Give me a call if you need anything or if Conan's giving you any trouble." Ran laughed as she nodded and took the number graciously. Conan gave Kid a curious glance, marveling how he could just easily give them his number. Most likely he has some sort of precautions set up against tracking if he was willing to give his number to him. But some part of him felt that the thief actually trusted him with valuable information.

The mother and son headed out the door, stopping only to give final goodbyes before leaving the agency. Conan quickly excused himself, giving a quick call to the professor, telling him that he had something to discuss with him and Haibara tomorrow. He thought it was best that he refrain from telling the story over the phone, in case there really were members of the Black Organization tapping their phone. Yet, as Conan got ready for bed, he couldn't but feel a little safer. One would think that letting an internationally wanted thief be an ally would be insane, but considering whom that thief was, Conan did find comfort in having someone with such skills watching his back, not that he'd ever admit.

Conan sighed as he got under the covers. His mind wandered to the case Hattori mentioned. It seemed like it might be bit of a challenge. He vaguely wondered if he could get the stupid thief to help him. He shut out the idea. He didn't need his help. Sighing again, he rolled over and drifted into, surprisingly, peaceful sleep.

**So, I mentioned in the Request that I always found Kid and Conan's relationship similar to a brotherly rivalry, like how an older brother taunts the little brother. Only problem is that the little brother is just as smart and devious as the older brother and has creative ways of getting revenge (cue in soccer ball of death). XD **

**So that's where this inspiration came from. **

**Anyway, considering how the plot is setting up and how much Conan trusts Kid, I honestly wouldn't be surprise if something like this did happen. Conan already managed to pull Kid into his problem a bit (the Mystery Train) and seeing his experience and skill set, he'd be a valuable asset to Conan's team. **

**Unfortunately, Kid won't be in the next chapter or so, only mentioned at best, but at least he is, more or less, on standby for Conan. **

**Oh and Todai is the abbreviation for University of Tokyo (Tokyo-U for us English folk) and Kid's false name "Toshiro" is named after Mifune Toshiro, a famous Japanese actor in the late twentieth century. **

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Magic Kaito or Detective Conan (sadly)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh, I forgot to mention last time. The University of Tokyo is basically the Harvard of Japan, hence the reason why everyone is impressed with Toshiro going there. And yes, Kaito actually is going there, hence Yusaku's mentioning of a perfect cover. Also, I hope you can bear with me on this story. Crime/mystery isn't my forte, but I wanted to try something different so tell me if I'm doing an okay job or not. I'm more of a humor person, if you haven't figured that out yet. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

Chapter 3: Questions

"It's not funny, Hattori!" Conan barked into his phone. He had just finished telling Hattori about his "older brother" and Hattori had yet to stop laughing for the past several minutes. His face was set in a firm, harsh scowl and he couldn't wait for the weekend: then he'd be able to hit Hattori for laughing at him. However, the Osakan on the other end didn't seem like he was going to stop laughing any time soon. He found the entire situation hilarious.

Conan sighed, waiting for his friend's fit to be over. He already told the professor and Haibara. Agasa was slightly horrified by the idea, telling Shinichi to watch out for the thief. Haibara, on the other hand and surprisingly, thought it was a brilliant idea. By circulating the idea of the Edogawa family, it would further establish distance between the idea of Conan and Shinichi. Also, after the train incident, she had grown to respect the thief, seeing as he did fake her death for her, even if it was through blackmail. She, like Conan, wouldn't have let any one else try something like that, even through blackmail, seeing as he was an escape artist. She also liked the idea of having him on their side permanently now. With his knowledge and skills, he'd be an invaluable asset if they were going to live through this. She knew she would have to give one of her rare thank yous to the thief.

Hattori finally managed to get his laughter under control as he choked out, "I'm sorry, Kudo! I don't see how that couldn't be funny!"

Conan hissed angrily, "I'd like to see you in my position and see how you'd handle it!"

"Alright, alright, sorry. Sheesh!" Hattori said, still chuckling a bit, "At least ya got someone permanently watchin' yer back now."

"Well, I don't need his help," Conan snapped, still bitter, "and I'm sure the only reason he's doing this, besides being blackmailed into it, is to drive me insane!"

"Looks like he's already accomplished that, by the sound of it," Hattori snickered.

Conan groaned, getting annoyed with this already, "Whatever, you'll see for yourself eventually and when you have to deal with him, I'll just sit back and watch as he drives you insane!"

Hattori laughed, "Sounds interestin'! After the way ya talk about 'im, I always wanted to go toe to toe with 'im. After all, ya said it yerself, he's the only person ya haven't figured out yet."

"Tch, he's just a thief who uses magic tricks," Conan remarked bitterly.

Hattori retorted, "And he's the same thief who's still the only guy ya have yet to catch."

Conan groaned again, rubbing his temples. Even when the thief wasn't actually around he managed to drive him crazy. He may be a genius in his own right, but that damn thief was a pain in the ass. He wondered idly if that was Kid's general personality or if he just purposely messed with him. That was a stupid question: of course he purposely messed with him.

"Whatever," Conan grumbled, "Have you figured out how the poison got into Fukui-san?"

This shut up Hattori as he finally lost his mirth and sighed, "Yeah, an' ya ain't goin' ta like it." Conan grew serious as he waited for Hattori to continue. "It was polonium an' it was in one of 'is Dalteparin pills. He had a heart attack not long before he died which was why they weren't certain on murder yet."

Conan closed his eyes. Not only was the culprit able to get his hands on polonium but was also able to slip it into one of the victim's medication. He did not like were this was going. He asked calmly, "Have you found any type of motive for the murder?"

"Not really," Hattori admitted, "he was fairly well-liked, but didn't have much pull anywhere major. He was on the committee for advocating a quicker response system for environmental emergencies. Seems like he was in favor of setting up a new instant response team for things like forest fires, tsunamis, an' earthquakes, but that's all I got right now."

Conan was in deep thought. It didn't seem like Fukui-san was high enough on the political scale to warrant murder, so that meant either he had been involved with something he shouldn't have been or he saw something that he shouldn't. Conan's mind quickly jumped to the Black Organization, but he shook the thought off. They didn't leave evidence and this would be the first that they'd use radioactive material for a crime. No, it had to be someone else, but not at all less dangerous. Considering the method used, they had some damn good resources and techniques to get that much radioactive material into the victim's medicine without anyone noticing until now. He mused to himself for a while. He'd need to figure what Fukui-san was involved in or saw so he could get a clue as to who was behind it.

"Can you run a search for all known groups with connections to radiation and medical preparation?" Conan asked.

"Already on it," Hattori said solemnly, "I haven't got anythin' yet though."

"Keep looking and I'll see what I can do," Conan said, "We can exchange information this weekend when you're here."

"Sounds good," Hattori agreed, "Oh, an' Kudo?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let yer big brother bug ya too much!" Hattori said cheekily, hanging up before Conan could yell at him. Conan glared at his phone, but sighing after a few moments. This was going to be a hard case.

-00000-

The rest of the week was much more uneventful. Conan went through the usual routine of elementary school, playing with his friends a few times, and solved a missing person case Kogoro got from an old lady. It wasn't hard; the culprit was the woman's ungrateful grandson who wanted his inheritance already. It took less than thirty minutes to solve. Of course, Kogoro boasted that he broke his personal record. Conan just gave him his usual annoyed look. He was just grateful Amuro wasn't there; he didn't his prodding.

Conan did, however, did have to suffer through an extremely long and painful discussion as Sonoko prodded him for details on his "older brother." Apparently, she liked the idea of him being a college student and wanted to know more about another possible guy for her. Conan just sidestepped the issue, seeing he didn't have any personal details about the guy, disguise or not. So, he would only say that she'd find out when she'd meet him, telling her that he was going to visit once in a while. After hearing her excited chatter, Conan entertained himself with the idea of telling Sonoko that his "brother" was really Kid and let her loose on him. But he wasn't that evil… unless the thief did something to really piss him off.

Hattori finally made it up, under the guise of him being on a case (which he was). He had brought Kazuha with him and she, Ran, and Sonoko left to do some shopping, leaving the boys for 'guy time.' Kogoro was out at the moment, so the two detectives had the place to themselves. The two compared notes on their own investigations, but neither of them yielded anything more than what they already knew.

"Looks like whoever did this knew how ta hide their tracks," Hattori said, frowning over the little information in front of them. Conan only nodded in agreement, looking for something to give them any possible leads.

Hattori looked at Conan cautiously, "Ya don't think it could be-"

"It's not them," Conan said quickly.

"How are ya sure?"

"They don't leave evidence, remember. Also, they never used radiation before and I doubt they would go through the effort just to kill one man when a bullet would work just as well," Conan explained.

"Hmm… I see yer point," Hattori admitted.

"That's what's bugging me, though," Conan continued.

"What is?"

"Why radiation?" Conan looked up at Hattori, "If they wanted him dead, why go through all the work to use radioactive material in such a way and go through the trouble of covering their tracks?"

Hattori thought for a moment, "To make a statement?"

"Maybe," Conan mused, "Or maybe sending out a warning."

"To who?"

"I don't know, but we're going to have to find out," Conan said firmly. They were racking their brains when there was a knock on the door. Hattori went to open and found Inspector Megure standing outside.

"Megure-keibu? What are ya doing here?" Hattori asked, surprised.

Equally surprised, the inspector asked, "Hattori-kun?" before shaking his head, "Never mind, is Mouri-san here?"

Hattori shook his head, "No he isn't. Why? Didn't ya call 'im?"

"I tried, but the idiot won't pick up his phone!" grumbled the inspector.

"Is it a case?" Conan asked, pooping up behind Hattori.

Megure looked down at Conan, slightly irritated, but nodded, "Yeah, we got a strange case, and we were hoping he'd look into it."

"We could help ya," Hattori offered, smiling.

Megure looked like he was weighing his options before sighing, turning to leave, "Alright, come on then. Since I can't get a hold of Mouri-san." The two detectives followed him into the police car.

The crime scene was typical: some officers keeping the place from contamination, while others were questioning witnesses. Megure walked in, motioning for the two detectives to follow him. He came up to the room the victim was at and knock on the door.

"It's Megure." The door opened. Lying on the bed was a man about in his thirties with steaks of dried blood running from his nose and mouth, eyes closed. There was an officer taking pictures of the body and the room as well. In the corner with Takagi was a young woman with long brown hair crying and shaking her head.

Megure came up to Takagi, asking, "So what happened?"

Takagi sighed, signaling another officer to watch the woman, "Ueda Itsuki. Age thirty-seven. He was a professor of biochemistry at Kitasato University. The woman over there is Ueda Mai, his wife. She says her husband wasn't feeling good when he suddenly began to have some type of seizure and blood began to run from his mouth and nose. She called for an ambulance, but by the time they arrived, he was already dead."

"Time of death?"

"About an half an hour ago, now."

"Hmm… was there anything else that Ueda-san mentioned?"

"Yes," Takagi nodded, looking through his notes, "she mentioned that about a week ago, he wasn't feeling well then either. Apparently, he was very nauseous and was suffering from severe headaches. His doctor diagnosed him with flu and prescribed him some over-the-counter medicine for his symptoms. After a day or so, his symptoms disappeared and they thought he was fine until today."

As Megure thought about the information, Hattori and Conan gave each other a quick look. They were thinking the same thing.

Hattori asked Megure, "Do ya mind if I ask Ueda-han a few questions?" The inspector nodded, leaving to ask some other officers about the case.

Ueda-san's eyes were red from her tears as she looked at the Osakan. "What do you want, boy?" she asked in a raspy voice from her crying.

"Yer husband didn't happen ta know a man by the name of Fukui-han?" Hattori asked, getting straight to the point.

"You mean Kazuhiro?" she said, not seeing the Hattori's eyes widening slightly, "My husband and him were great friends. He would always stop by when he was in town. Itsuki was horrified when he heard the news that he died."

"Did yer husband and Fukui-han ever seem ta talk about somethin' a lot? About his job or anythin'?"

Ueda-san thought for a moment, "No, they talked about anything and everything, but… A few months ago, Kazuhiro started asking Itsuki about something with his job, like specifics on his work. Itsuki would get angry and tell him it was none of his business. He felt so guilty when Kazuhiro died because he had said some rather cruel words over the phone a few days earlier."

Hattori looked down at Conan, who nodded. There was no doubt about it. The two cases were connected and it looked like whoever was behind it had more resources than they thought. Hattori walked over to Megure and told him his suspicions. Though highly skeptical, Megure agreed to get everyone off the premises and let a radiation team observe Ueda-san. Coming back out, the team confirmed their hunch. Ueda-san died from radiation poisoning.

**Dun dun dun! Looks like Hattori and Conan got themselves into an interesting case. Like I said, crime/mystery ain't my usual genres, so I'm sorry if this isn't coming out right or not. I'm open to suggestions if any of you got them. **

**As for why they knew it was radiation poisoning from hearing Takagi's findings. When someone is exposed to extreme amounts of radiation, given the exact amount, the first symptoms are akin in a cold or stomach flu, nausea, vomiting, and headaches/migraines. After that, they are symptom free for a time and everything is back to normal. This is what's called the walking dead phase. Once this phase is over (again depending on how much exposure) the more serious symptoms occur such as bleeding from the mouth, nose and rectum, hair loss, low blood pressure and poor wound healing. Depending on the exposure, one can die from a few months to an hour. But this is dealing with extreme, extreme exposure. As not to freak anyone out, something like an X-ray will not do this to someone. This would only happen to someone working directly with radioactive materials like a nuclear plant or some other industrial facility, or in this case, was directly poison, but this is fiction, so it doesn't count.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed and will bear with me on this story!**

**Disclaimer – Detective Conan and Magic Kaito are not mine. I own nothing.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! Got back to this thankfully. Like I said, don't be surprise by very long and random breaks between chapters. I'm a slow writer as it is, and on and off inspiration can be a pain. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 4: Research

"So, you think that the two cases are related?" Megure asked. He, Hattori and Conan were back at the police station where Hattori just finished explaining his and Conan's theory to the Inspector. The Inspector was in deep thought. He didn't like the idea of radiation murders and would probably need some more qualified people to look into this.

"That's right," Hattori nodded. He didn't like this any more than the Inspector, but he was somehow retaining a clear mind as he mulled over the facts. Conan was sitting next to him, lost in his own thoughts. Just like the other two, this case had him worried bit. The fact that whoever was behind it was using radiation was concerning, but there was one other reason he was a bit uncertain about the case. Despite the obvious connection between the victims, there was still something missing. Why were they killed? Conan remembered Ueda-san mentioning that the two of them were arguing over her husband's work, but what exactly did mean to the case. Also, the fact that both victims had radioactive pills slipped into their medications was problematic. He had so many questions; he needed to decide where to start for this investigation.

After some more discussion and promising to cooperate with the police, Hattori and Conan left the station, both silent. After a couple of blocks, Hattori broke the silence, "So, where do ya think we should start from?"

Conan didn't look at him, thinking, "I'm not sure. We need to know why they were killed and see if anyone else is in danger. Also, we need to figure out how the radioactive material got into the medication." Hattori nodded in agreement, but let Conan continued, "My guess for the medication would be that they either have someone on the inside or they blackmailed someone into putting it in."

"'Nd for a motive?" Hattori asked.

Conan finally looked up at him, "I'm not sure. Our best bet would to find out what Ueda-san and Fukui-san were arguing about."

"That's what I thought," Hattori said, "So should we head ta the college ta see if anyone knows anythin'?"

"Yeah let's start there. We'll let Megure-keibu deal with the radiation trail for now," Conan said. With that, the two detectives headed for Kitasato University. After asking around they managed to find the building where the biochemistry faculty was and began asking around. Most of Ueda-san's colleagues were horrified by the news, but gave them the information they wanted the best they could. As for what Conan and Hattori managed to get, it wasn't anything substantial. The best they got was information about Ueda-san's partner in a research project of his and the location of his office.

Making their way to the west wing of the building, they managed to find the office. Hattori went to open the door, but another hand beat him to it. Surprised he looked up as a voice started saying, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" The voice stopped as its owner recognized Hattori and Hattori him.

"You!?" Hattori exclaimed, mouth gaping at the tall blond detective.

"Oh, it's the hot-headed Osakan detective," Hakuba sighed, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I could ask ya the same thing!" Hattori said hotly, remembering the last time he was with the British sleuth.

Before the two could have a go at one another, Conan piped up, "Hakuba-niisan, why are you here? I thought you were in England."

Hakuba looked down to see Conan and his expression soften a bit. He squatted down to Conan's level, smiling, "I was in England preparing for college, but unfortunately a friend of my uncle's died mysteriously and he asked me to look into it for him."

"A friend of yer uncle's?" Hattori asked, "That wouldn't be Ueda-han, would it?"

Mild surprise flashed across Hakuba's face as he stood up to look at the Osakan, "Yes, it is. Why do you know him?"

"Because we're lookin' into 'is case as well. His death was in the same manner as another case and we think they're related," Hattori answered, calming down from Hakuba's sudden arrival.

Hakuba turned slightly, holding his chin in thought, "That's concerning. If I recall, Ueda-san died from radiation poisoning."

"That's right," Conan said, "Megure-keibu is looking into the radiation trail as we look for a motive behind the murders."

"I see," Hakuba said, turning back to the door and lying a hand on the handle, "I guess we might as well cooperate for the time being." He opened the door and went in, missing Hattori's grumble of "Fine." Conan smirked a bit as he followed Hakuba and Hattori into the room. If anything, this case just got entertaining. A thought crossed his mind; _Hattori can't say anything to me about Kid now. _He shook his head at that.

The room was empty and slightly distressed with papers sprawled across the desk. Conan took note of the papers, committing their contents to memory as he glanced at them. Hattori and Hakuba were looking around as well, careful not to disturb their surroundings too much. After a while, they stopped and looked at each other.

"Find anythin'," Hattori asked.

"Nothing, I'm afraid," Hakuba sighed.

Conan shook his head, "There has to be something here."

"I know, Ku-Conan," Hattori managed to save his slip, but earning a curiously glance from Hakuba, "but there's-"

"Who the hell are you kids?" a voice boomed from the door. They all turned to see a young man with ragged black hair and square glasses, which he pushed back up to the bridge of his nose. He eyed them angrily as he asked, a bit violently, "What are you doing in my office?"

Hattori was about to make a retort, but Hakuba spoke first, "We're terribly sorry for the intrusion. You're Higa-san, I presume."

"Yeah, that's me," Higa-san said, still hotly, "Who wants to know?"

"I'm Hakuba Saguru, this is Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan," Hakuba motioned towards the others, "We'd like to ask you a few questions about the research you were working on with Ueda-san."

At this Higa-san wrinkled his nose in disgust and shouted, "Who the hell do you think you are! You're just a bunch of brats. Now get out of my office!" He was seething and glared at them with daggers. But from Conan's vantage point, there was a substantial amount of tiredness in his eyes and his voice, though angry, held the same amount of wariness. It was as if the man hadn't slept in days and was stressed beyond belief. Hattori was going to argue back, but a look from Conan silenced him and the three detectives left the room. Higa-san slammed the door behind him.

"Well, that was sure nice of 'im," Hattori muttered sarcastically.

Hakuba nodded, "He doesn't want to be questioned. Could be cause for suspicion."

"Most likely, it was the stress and lack of sleep getting to him," Conan said calmly.

The two taller detectives looked down at him. "What do you mean?" They asked in unison, glancing at each other warily as they did.

Conan looked at them, "He looked like he hasn't slept in days and was pretty stressed to say the least. Considering everyone didn't mind motioning us to his office, I think it's safe to assume that that isn't his normal personality. Something has him worried."

"Do ya think it could be 'im that these guys are warnin' or somethin' with the radiation?" Hattori asked.

Conan nodded, "Possibly, but we need to find out more information."

"I agree," Hakuba said, "For the time being, we should ask around about Higa-san and his research with Ueda-san."

The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon, asking around yet again about Ueda-san's research, but asking about Higa-san as well. What they were able to learn was that the two researchers were working on a type of formula that would compress the molecular make-up of elements and minerals for better efficiency. This set up a red flag for the detectives, for it was possible that the same formula was used to poison the victims.

After a quick lunch at the college's dining center, the three detectives came back towards the main office of the biochemistry department. They were going to start asking around again when a gruff voice asked, "Is Higa-san in today?" The detectives looked to see a tall man in a casual black suit staring down at the secretary. He had a broad jaw and slanted eyes, looking practically menacing to the poor secretary. The small secretary nodded timidly and told him where to go. The man then stomped past the detectives, nearly knocking down Hattori in the process.

"Hey! Watch it!" Hattori barked, regaining his balance. The man didn't bother to acknowledge him and kept walking.

"Geez! What's 'is deal?" Hattori complained. Hakuba shrugged, but watched the man cautiously as he walked down the hall. Conan, however, slipped past both of them and followed the man to Higa-san's office. Hiding behind a plant, Conan watched as the man pounded on the door. He heard Higa-san's voice, "What is it now?" as he pulled the door open. The moment he saw who was standing before him, Higa-san's face was drained of color and his mouth opened slightly in fear. Conan tensed, realizing that this man was dangerous.

"Hello, Higa," the man sneered, "May I have a word with you?" Higa-san only nodded timidly, much like the secretary, and stepped aside for the man to enter. As soon as the door was closed, Conan rushed from his hiding spot and pressed his ear to the door, but he could barely hear the muffled voices. Cursing, Conan tried to think of a way to listen when a hand touched his shoulder. He tensed, but managed to turn to see an irritated Hattori staring at him.

"What do ya think yer doin'?" Hattori hissed, but keeping his voice quiet.

Conan just shook his head, ignoring the question and said, "We need to find out what they're talking about." He pointed towards the door.

"There's a vent on the right side of the room," Hakuba said thoughtfully. Taking the hint, the three of them walked to the office next door and went in. Luckily, there was no one there and they spotted the vent connecting the two rooms. Hattori hoisted up Conan so he could listen. Conan took out his Detective Boys badge and held it up to the vent. He'd have to remember to thank the professor for adding a recording function to the badge.

"… I-I thought we h-had an-an agreement," Higa-san stammered, fear clear in his hushed voice.

A dark chuckle was heard, "We did, but circumstances have changed, Higa. So, unless you want to end up like Ueda or that snooping politician, I suggest you cooperate."

Conan tensed at this, but kept listening, waving back Hattori's question when he asked what was being said.

"Y-you… You're responsible for Ueda-san's death," Higa-san managed to get out. His tone was somewhere between horrified and angry.

"Of course, but I should think it was partial suicide, just as it was your responsibility as well," the man laughed.

"Our research," Higa-san breathed, "You bastards…"

The man laughed again, "Yes, your research was excellent, Higa. You'll be commended for sure. But for now, your work is ours to control. Understand?"

There wasn't a response, but Conan could guess that Higa-san nodded in defeat. There was a ringing sound and the man told Higa to be quiet for a moment.

"Privet?" Conan was confused for a moment. Was that Russian? He tried to follow what the man was saying, but despite knowing the Russian alphabet, Conan didn't know the language enough to follow the conversation, only able to pick out a few words. In mid-sentence, the language switched to French, but it was so rapid that Conan still couldn't follow it. Over the course of the conversation, the language switched four other times: Norwegian, Arabic, Spanish, and finally English.

"Yes, sir. I understand. Of course, I'll take care of it. Yes, sir," the man said carefully and with respect. The call ended and the man spoke once again, back in Japanese, "You're in luck, Higa. Our boss has a different job for me. But be ready, Higa. We're not through with you yet." The sound of a door closing signaled that the man left.

Hattori put Conan back on the floor and asked what happened. Conan gave them a brief summary as they walked back to Higa-san's office. Hattori opened the door gently, seeing a distress Higa-san sitting at his desk, his head in his hands. Hearing the door, he looked up and gave them a tired scowl. "What do you kids want now?"

"We heard your conversation with that man just now," Hakuba stated simply and straightforward.

"You what?" the man looked horrified.

"Relax, Higa-han," Hattori said, "We're detectives. We're here ta help ya."

"Get out! Now!" Higa-san demanded. But this time his voice was laced in worry not anger, "This doesn't concern you."

Hattori marched over to him and looked at him straight in the eye, "We're detectives. It's our job."

"You're just kids," Higa-san snapped.

Hakuba stepped towards him as well, "Higa-san, I can assure you. Despite our age, we are competent detectives and have solved a number of cases before. We can help you."

But Higa-san just shook his head, "You've never gone up against men like these and I won't let kids like you dig your own graves." So here was the nice Higa-san everyone else mentioned.

"Higa-san," Conan piped up, "If you won't let us help you, why not go to the police?"

Higa-san looked down abruptly, noticing Conan for the first time. His mouth gaped a little, but conceded for the small child. "They have my wife and son under their supervision. The moment I go to a police station, they're dead."

"Why are they holdin' yer family hostage?" Hattori asked, calmly.

Higa-san looked at him, "They wanted our research. They approached us a few months ago, telling us to cooperate or our families would be killed. So we did as they asked, and handed our research to them. We thought that we're fine then, but Ueda-san's friend got concerned and started looking around. I told Ueda-san to stop him, but he said that we couldn't let these men get away with exploiting us," he put his head back into his hands, "To think that our own research killed him…"

Hattori placed a hand on Higa-san's shoulder, "Don't worry, Higa-han. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."

Higa-san looked up at him and shook his head, "No, please. I won't be responsible for your deaths as well."

"Well, it isn't yer decision now, is it?" Hattori smiled, shocking Higa-san, "We're gonna solve this case, whether ya like it or not."

Higa-san just sat there in shock as Hattori walked out of the room, with Conan and Hattori in tow.

Once outside, Hattori asked Conan to played back the conversation. He did and the three of them stood still for a moment. Hattori looked up at Hakuba, "I don't suppose ya know any of these languages, do ya?"

Hakuba shook his head, "I know French and English, but I'm not fluent in French and he was speaking too fast for me to catch what he was saying."

"So we need a translator, possibly multiple translators," Hattori mused, trying to come up with someone who could possibly translate for them and not ask too many questions.

Conan thought to himself. They need someone who was fluent in these languages and could accurately merge the bits of conversation together so they could get what was said on the phone. A person came to mind, but he shook off the thought. There was no way he'd go to _him _for help. Besides, he wasn't even sure if he knew other languages. But considering his occupation and the fact that he knew enough Russian to be several steps ahead with that Russian egg fiasco, there was a good chance that he knew at least some of the languages. He sighed. As much as he didn't want his help, time was important and they didn't have the time to hunt for, as Hattori said, multiple translators.

"I think I know someone who can translate for us. But I'm not sure if he knows all these languages," Conan said a bit bitterly.

"Really? Who?" Hattori asked. Hakuba looked down at Conan questioningly.

Conan sighed again, really not wanting to answer, "My brother."

**Hope you like the last chapter. Like I said last time, crime/mystery isn't my usual story writing, so I hope I'm doing a decent job at least. Again, open to comments and suggestions!**

**Anyway, for those of you who love Kid, he'll be in the next chapter and it will be funny. **

**Disclaimer – I own neither Detective Conan nor Magic Kaito **


	6. Chapter 6

**So… Haven't updated for awhile… Sorry about that. Been ridiculously busy and I was trying to figure out how to write this chapter, so yeah. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Meetings

Conan, Hattori, and Hakuba sat at a small café, waiting impatiently for Conan's "brother" to show up. They had agreed to meet around one, but it was now at least twenty minutes past and he had yet to show up. While this ticked off Hattori and Hakuba to extent, particularly Hakuba seeing as he had a obsession about time and being punctual, Conan was actually curious as to why Kid hadn't shown up yet. When it came to his heists, the guy never failed to disappoint his fans (and the police) and came perfectly on time. Apparently, that dedication didn't apply to other areas.

As they sat there and waited, Conan looked up at Hakuba, frowning slightly. He really hoped that he didn't know as much about Kid as he did, or else a lot of awkward and dangerous questions would be asked. And considering that Hakuba was a detective as well, he seriously doubted that the Brit would let it slide without answers. He thought about the conversation with Kid, hoping that he had a plan.

-00000-

"Yer brother!" Hattori exclaimed after the small detective mentioned his "sibling"; Hattori's voice was caught in a mixture of extreme surprise and laughter. Conan shot him a look that said quite plainly, 'Shut up.'

As Conan glared daggers at a struggling Hattori, for he was trying his best to hold back his laughter, Hakuba gave Conan a curious glance, "You have a brother?"

Conan sighed and looked up at the British sleuth, "Yeah, I have an older brother named Toshiro. He goes to Todai." That raised Hakuba's eyebrows, but he supposed he shouldn't be too surprised. Considering Conan's level of intelligence, his older brother was most likely just as smart. "I see," he mused, "What is he studying?"

"Engineering," Conan stated, remembering that's what Kid had said before. Hakuba nodded, still somewhat impressed by the unknown brother.

Hattori finally managed to control himself, "So yer brother knows multiple languages?" Hattori had to use all his strength not to laugh at saying 'yer brother.'

"Like I said, I don't know for sure, but it's a start," Conan sighed, "If he doesn't, I'm sure he knows someone who can help us."

"Sounds like a good plan," Hakuba mused. Conan looked at him, frowning suddenly. Hakuba had chased Kid before him, so there was a chance that he'd figure out Kid's identity and blow both their covers. He might have to find a way to keep the two apart. But, despite his dislike of the thief, he knew that Kid was a damn good actor, able to fool even him a couple times. Hell, one of those times was when he pretended to be the very detective standing before him. There was a good chance that Kid could keep up his act and if not, well, Kid _was_ an escape artist.

"Okay, let me just call him," Conan said. He found the number Kid gave him in his contacts and dialed. He still silently wondered why the thief trusted him with his number. Surely, the thief wasn't that stupid or crazy. But he couldn't help but feel that the thief actually trusted and respected him enough not to look into his life.

As he called, Conan noticed that Hattori was eagerly eavesdropping while Hakuba seemed rather curious still. He hoped that he'd be able to keep his cool in front of them and not blow his or "his brother's" cover to bits. After a few rings, the line was picked up and a cheerful, "Hey Conan!" was his answer. Conan realized that it was "Toshiro's" voice, which meant he was somewhere in public. Good, that meant they were less likely to fall into their normal banter that brought out his "Shinichi" side.

"Hey, Niisan!" Conan internally shuddered at his own greeting, seeing Hattori smirking in the corner of his eye, "How's it going?" He felt like an idiot and he could practically sense Kid's smirk through the phone.

"It's going good, little bro," Toshiro said kindly, but an underlining tone of mockery that was aimed at Conan was not missed, "Just doing some work and such."

"It wouldn't happen to be something for your night job, would it?" Conan said disapprovingly. To anyone who didn't know the situation, like Hakuba, it simply sounded like a child admonishing his older brother, not hinting to anything criminal.

Toshiro laughed, "No, it's not that job. I do have a day job, you know. Seeing that my night job doesn't exactly pay well."

Conan couldn't help but agree with that. Kid never kept what he stole; always returning it to the police or, in some cases, its rightful owner. It always made him wonder why the thief stole in the first place. Was it simply for the fun of it? Was he some philanthropist that found life boring and used his money to send the police on wild goose chases for his own entertainment? Somehow, Conan really would not be surprised by that, actually. But there something that always told him that there was more to it. He shook his head; now was not the time to be thinking about this. "Anyway, Niisan," Conan started, "I need to ask for a favor."

"Oh? What makes you think I'll do you any favors? I'm your brother, not your errand boy." Toshiro asked, a bit of Kid creeping into his voice.

Conan took this as a perfect opportunity to get back at Kid, and used his 'cute' little kid voice to mock him, "That's right! You are my brother! My big brother! And Dad told you to look out for me!"

"Why you little-" Conan smirked as he heard Toshiro sigh, "Fine, what is it this time? I hope it's nothing as dangerous as your last favor because I'm NOT doing something like that again, got it?"

Conan couldn't help but laugh, "Don't worry, it's nothing like that. How many languages can you speak fluently?"

"Eh? Languages? Why the hell are you asking me that for?" Toshiro asked, surprised.

Conan retorted, "Just answer the question."

"Alright, alright, you don't have to be so angry about it," Toshiro complained, somehow balancing out both Kid and Toshiro at the same time, "Let's see, fluently, I can speak at least eight languages, I can get by with another seven, and I'm working on five others. Why do you ask?"

Conan was shocked for a moment. He guessed that Kid knew quite a few languages, but didn't realize that he could be that diverse. He shook his head. He supposed being internationally wanted had its merits. "Do you know Russian, French, Norwegian, Arabic, Spanish, and English?"

"Yes…" Toshiro said hesitatingly, "Why do you ask? Is it for a case of yours or something?"

"Yes," Conan said simply, "Can you meet us in a little bit? We need you to translate."

"Whose we?"

Conan stopped at that. Hattori already knew, so he won't try to blow Kid's cover. But Hakuba could still cause some problems. "Hattori-niisan and Hakuba-niisan."

"Hakuba-san?" Toshiro asked. Conan was surprised; it sounded more out of curiosity than anxiety. Then again, when did Kid ever show anxiety?

"He's working the case, too," Conan said simply.

"Really? Huh?" Toshiro mused, "I thought he was still in England. Oh well. Don't worry, Conan. I'll be careful. So where do you want to meet?"

Conan told him to meet them tomorrow at a small café not far from where the agency. Kid agreed to come and bid Conan farewell a little too cheekily for Conan's liking. After he hung up, he looked up at Hattori, who again was trying not to laugh, and Hakuba, who simply nodded at the small detective. They got a cab and headed home to go over what they had.

-00000-

Conan sighed wondering where that idiot thief was when he heard a small commotion coming from the door.

"Are you alright, young man?" a concerned man's voice asked.

A nervous laugh answered, "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it."

That voice! Conan turned to see a slightly disheveled Toshiro rubbing his forehead as he tried to wave off the man's apologies.

"No, really, sir. It's okay; I'm not hurt. Besides, I shouldn't have been running like that," Toshiro said quickly.

Seeing as this was becoming a small scene, Conan called out, "Niisan! Over here!"

Toshiro looked over, spotted Conan, and smiled (or in Conan's case, smirked). He bid the man goodbye, assuring that no damage was done and walked over to the detectives. It was then Conan noticed that his "brother" looked slightly worn, with a small bandage on his face and something smeared on his left cheek. Closer examination suggested that it was oil. He also noticed that Toshiro wasn't wearing a hat this time and noted that the guy's hairstyle was neither Shinichi's nor Kid's. Instead, the dark hair was slightly messy in the back with fringed bangs that looked oddly formal (1).

"What happened to you?" Conan asked a bit bluntly but curious.

Toshiro looked puzzled for a moment, not sure what the kid was talking. He then realized he must have looked like a mess. He laughed sheepishly, "Sorry, work kind of got a little hectic and I realized I was late, so I guess I forgot to clean up. I was running up to the door when that guy back there opened it and accidently hit me in the head."

Conan blinked, wondering if that was a true story. Taking in his appearance, he guessed that it could be true, but Kid was a brilliant liar by nature and could easily match his appearance to his story. It made him briefly wonder if he could actually trust the thief, but their past encounters told him enough. So he let it slide for now. "Where do you work at?" Conan asked, wondering if he'd actually get an answer.

Surprisingly, he did. "You know this. I work at the auto shop down on 3rd Street," Toshiro asked simply, almost teasingly.

Before Conan could manage a retort, Hattori, who for the past few minutes was in shock, burst out, "KUDO?"

Toshiro and Conan turned their heads to the other detectives, seeing completely shell-shocked looks on both of their faces. Conan had to mentally slap himself; he forgot to tell Hattori about Kid's nearly identical appearance to his own. However, he was wondering why Hakuba looked so freaked out. Habuka turned to Hattori as well with a questioning glance, "Kudo?"

Toshiro blinked a few times before asking tentatively, "Uh… Do you mean our cousin Shinichi?"

Hakuba looked back to Toshiro, confused, "Shinichi? As in Kudo Shinichi?"

Both Toshiro and Conan nodded their heads. "Yeah, he's our cousin and we look a lot alike. People actually used to call us twins. He's the one that my little brother here so fascinated with detective work, not that our parents did anything to curb it though," Toshiro said politely, yet still managing to throw a jab at Conan. Conan glared at him.

"Is that so?" Hakuba said, a bit skeptically. The person in front of him looked too much like a certain someone for his comfort. But that Osakan said something about Kudo and both Conan and Toshiro mention that they're cousins, so it was possible. But he had to make sure. He excused himself quickly to make a quick phone call.

Once Hakuba left, Hattori looked at Toshiro, "So, are ya really 'im?"

Kid laughed quietly and the sudden tone change threw Hattori off. Conan hit Kid on the back of the head and hissed, "We're in public, moron!"

Unfazed by Conan's attack and death glare, Kid just chuckled, his voice back to its usual drawl, "Relax, Tantei-kun. Very few people are capable of noticing tone changes in a crowded place like this."

"Of course, you of all people would know that fact," Conan blatantly pointed out.

Kid just smirked at him, "Considering that your profession requires about the same amount of what would be considered insignificant details as mine, you are in no position criticize me."

"I have to know these things to help people," Conan retorted darkly

"So do I."

"What? You, help? You use those details to-"

"Really, Tantei-kun," Kid interrupted, smirking still, "We're in public."

Conan was about to blow a fuse when the sound of Hattori's laughter stopped their bantering. Conan glared at him while Kid just looked amused.

"Shut up, Hattori!" Conan barked.

Hattori, however, was trying his hardest to calm his laughter, "I'm sorry, Kudo…. It's just… just… It's just… too funny! HaHa!" And he continued his fit. Conan just glared harder at his so-called friend.

"No wonder Kudo-san asked me to look out for you," Kid said, amused, "With him around, I'm surprise that your secret it still intact."

Conan turned his glare towards Kid, "I'm aware of that, but you're not helping me either!"

"Really? How so?"

"That nickname of yours," Conan deadpanned, "You're the only one who calls me that!"

"Oh? That?" Kid laughed, "I think it would be perfectly normal for an older brother to tease his little brother about being a good little detective." With that, he ruffled Conan's hair. Conan's eyes raged with murderous intent. _I will kill you_, he thought.

"This is great!" Hattori laughed, smirking slightly at Conan, "I never thought I'd see the day where Kudo can be so easily messed with!" Conan turned, once again to the Osakan, glaring still. _I'm going to kill you, too._

Kid smirked, "It's really not that hard, Hattori-san. You just need to know the correct way to provoke him."

Hattori snickered, "Ya got ta show me how ta do that sometime. Yer not half bad."

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" Conan practically yelled, "You're a detective, remember?"

"Oh come on, Kudo," Hattori laughed, "I'm just messin' with ya. Ya need ta lighten up!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell him, but he just doesn't listen to me," Kid sighed, but the damn smirk was still on his lips.

"Like I'd listen to you!" Conan snapped.

Kid just gave him a look, "You should respect your elders, Tantei-kun."

Conan blinked for a moment, "Wait. Did you just say that you're older than me?" Hattori also looked confused, but interested.

"Well, I sure hope so," Kid drawled, "I would think that was obvious considering you're just a little kid." Hattori just went back to laughing.

"Dammit, Kid! I swear I'm going to-" Conan was cut off when Kid abruptly covered his mouth, saying, "Conan! Where did you learn that?"

Conan and Hattori were extremely confused by the sudden switch to Toshiro's voice. Hattori was about to say something when he saw Hakuba walking back to their table. Picking up on the situation, Hattori looked to Toshiro, saying, "He must have learned it from Mouri-san. His vocabulary isn't exactly suited fer small children."

"Whose vocabulary isn't suited for small children?" Hakuba asked. He seemed interested, but there was a slight worn look to him. But he seemed to be comfortable with Toshiro now. He really should have known better. If it was Conan's brother, he should have had more faith.

"I guess Mouri-san's," Toshiro said a bit disappointedly, letting go of Conan, "Apparently Conan's guardian doesn't watch his mouth around him."

Hakuba nodded, sensing that he missed something, but didn't speak on it. He doubted it was of any importance. He saw Toshiro whisper something into Conan's ear, who glared and whispered something back, but Toshiro just laughed. He wondered why he doubted those two were brothers.

What Toshiro whispered was, "You know, you need to watch your outburst as well."

Conan angrily responded with, "Not all of us are specialized actors."

"So, Toshiro-san," Hattori started, "Can ya help us?"

Toshiro looked over and nodded, "Yeah, Conan mentioned something about a translation."

Conan took out his Detective Boys badge and played the recording. They were all silent, but watched Toshiro expectantly, particularly Conan. The message played through and Toshiro's face was one of thoughtful concern. He asked to have it played again. The message played again and his face grew graver. He asked for it to be repeated a couple more times, each time made his face paler and more worried.

After the tenth time through Toshiro didn't ask for a repeat, but just stared at the recording. This caught Conan's attention. What could have been on that recording that got Kid to shut up? Maybe it wasn't that bad and he's just acting still. But still for nothing to be said… He looked at Kid intently and saw something there that he wasn't quite sure what it was or if it was even real emotion. Either way, it unnerved him.

Finally, Toshiro looked up at them and said very simply, "What the hell did you guys get yourselves into?"

**So this was a hard chapter to write because I saw that it could go so many different ways, it was hard to decide how to go. I decided to not to let Hakuba know and buy the act, not because he's dumb or anything, but simply because he was out of the loop. The only reason Hattori knew was because Conan told him and he even blurted out Kudo, which actually helped to derail Hakuba from thinking too much about it, seeing how Toshiro looked like both Kudo and Kaito. Also, I thought Hattori and Kid would get along fairly well, don't worry, he will learn Conan's pain later. I just wanted to highlight the freakish natural tendency Kid and Conan had to bicker like brothers. **

**For Toshiro's hair style, think of a mix between Kaito's and Toichi's**

**Also, Hakuba's phone call. Because I found it hilarious, I'll share it with you.**

Hakuba impatiently waited for the phone, a smug look spreading on his face as he looked back at "Toshiro" and the phone still ringing. If he were right, oh how he would love the look on that arrogant face.

On the final ring, he was about to hang up in triumph when it was picked up and a very tired, and very angry voice snapped, "Hakuba! You better have a damn good reason for waking me up?"

Surprised at the voice, but sensing the tiredness in his "friend's" voice, he asked, "Kuroba-kun, it's one in the afternoon. I didn't think even you could sleep in that late. Is your night job finally getting to you?"

"What are you… It's four in the morning here, genius! I thought you of all people could figure out the time difference," Kuroba muttered tiredly, but definitely pissed.

"Time difference? Where are you?"

"Jeez, did you forget? Seriously, how the hell are you a detective where you can't even remember when someone tells you that they're going to France?"

"France? Why on earth are you in France?"

"I'm here with my mom, visiting old family friends. Didn't Aoko tell you?"

"No, she didn't," Hakuba said skeptically.

Kaito groaned, "Seriously, can't that girl do anything right? Whatever, what do you want, Hakuba? I swear if this is another thing about Kid-"

"How do I know you're really in France?"

"Seriously, Hakuba? Just track my phone, I know you're going to do it anyway."

Hakuba blinked for a couple minutes. Did Kaito serious just tell him to track his phone? Either he was too tired to think straight or he was telling the truth.

"Fine, Kuroba-kun. Sorry for disturbing your sleep, but remember I've lost sleep because of you too."

"For the love of… Whatever, goodnight!" And Kaito hung up. As soon as Kaito hung up, a loud noise could be heard from the others. Hakuba sighed, making a note to track the phone just in case. A loud noise reached his ears and he turned to see Toshiro covering Conan's mouth, the two older boys looking surprised. Interested, he walked over. At least he won't be dealing with Kid.

-00000-

In a hotel room in Paris, Jii stared at the phone, relieved that Hakuba took the bait. He was glad Kaito warned him yesterday about a possible phone call around this time, or else he wouldn't have been prepared to pretend to be the young master. He just hoped he was going to be okay. He had a bad feeling.

**So there's that! Sorry for the ridiculously long chapter, I just had so many ideas for this chapter and wanted to use them all. Just think of this as a make up for the time not updating. **

**Anyway, see you later! Remember, all reviews, comments, and suggestions are welcomed. **

**Until next time!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own either Magic Kaito or Detective Conan.**


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